Canine Behaviour Foundation Course
Module 1 - Section - 9 - First Exercises to bring in
Module 1 - Section - 9 - First Exercises to bring in
- Bite Inhibition, Mouthing, Nipping, Leave and Swap
- Dealing with Tantrums
- Calming your pup down
- Putting on a Collar and Lead
- Food Bowl Exercises
Bite/snatch Inhibition-Mouthing-Nipping-Leave Exercises
Together with ensuring that our dogs receive extensive socialization, Bite/snatch inhibition is one of the most important exercises we can teach our dogs, whether it is a puppy or an adult dog. This is an exercise that, once taught, should be reinforced throughout the dog’s life. Bite inhibition is a learned response wherein the dog consciously inhibits the full force of its biting ability and by teaching and maintaining these simple exercises you will ensure that the dog ends up with a ‘soft bite’ – the dog learns to inhibit the force of its bite’ and if the circumstances do occur where a bite is forthcoming, the odds are that it will be a lot less severe.
These exercises are based on the relationship between a whelping bitch and her puppies as well the play relationship between puppies. When the teeth of a whelping pup start to appear and it suddenly bites down hard on the teat, the mother normally gets up and walks away, sometimes with a vocal reprimand to the pup. The lesson that is learned – bite too hard and you do without! The same sort of situation occurs between 2 or more puppies playing. If one of the pups bites down too hard, the one that is nipped will yelp and dash away – again the same message is given – you hurt me so I won’t play with you anymore! Remember, this is one of the most important phases that a pup misses out on if taken away from litter mates at 5-6 weeks of age.
The last thing that anybody wants is to have a dog that snatches food out of our hands, especially if we have children. So often when we offer a dog a treat, you are lucky to come away with your fingers intact.
By teaching the following exercises the pup learns to have control over his jaws. This does not mean that he will never bite, but he does learn to control the force of the bite thus reducing the chance of serious damage. This exercise must ALWAYS be taught on its own.
In training we train with a lure in our hand to entice the dog into the heel position and if you started shouting at a pup/dog for snatching you would simply destroy the training side and your relationship. If your dog snatches at your fingers when training, just hit yourself over the head with the newspaper for not practising these exercise enough! Seriously though, in this type of situation, until the pup has learnt to take food gently, rather offer the food with your hand held open – this will stop the situation occurring and you can continue practicing the bite inhibition exercises in between.
Bite inhibition may help to lessen the severity of a bite in the situation of a dog fight, both from the point of view of the other dog and that of redirected aggression (in the case of trying to stop a dog fight and the dog turns and bites you by accident).
What we need to remember is that the biting is a totally natural behaviour and for a client to stop the pup doing this completely is simply an injustice! Pups need to mouth, bite down on us – otherwise how can we give them the information they need that human skin is just far too delicate to bite on? This exercise should be practised as a separate exercise, as often as possible daily.
Exercise 1 – Taking food from the hand gently – Bite Inhibition
After you have done this several times and the dog is gaining an understanding that grabbing at food results in both you and the food leaving, you can start on the other exercises. In some cases it is necessary to do both of these at the same time.
HOW TO:
Do bear in mind that if a dog is excited or nervous, the force of the bite will increase. Just go back to basics. This is an exercise that should be reinforced throughout the dog’s life. Doing this will really result in a soft bite.
Together with ensuring that our dogs receive extensive socialization, Bite/snatch inhibition is one of the most important exercises we can teach our dogs, whether it is a puppy or an adult dog. This is an exercise that, once taught, should be reinforced throughout the dog’s life. Bite inhibition is a learned response wherein the dog consciously inhibits the full force of its biting ability and by teaching and maintaining these simple exercises you will ensure that the dog ends up with a ‘soft bite’ – the dog learns to inhibit the force of its bite’ and if the circumstances do occur where a bite is forthcoming, the odds are that it will be a lot less severe.
These exercises are based on the relationship between a whelping bitch and her puppies as well the play relationship between puppies. When the teeth of a whelping pup start to appear and it suddenly bites down hard on the teat, the mother normally gets up and walks away, sometimes with a vocal reprimand to the pup. The lesson that is learned – bite too hard and you do without! The same sort of situation occurs between 2 or more puppies playing. If one of the pups bites down too hard, the one that is nipped will yelp and dash away – again the same message is given – you hurt me so I won’t play with you anymore! Remember, this is one of the most important phases that a pup misses out on if taken away from litter mates at 5-6 weeks of age.
The last thing that anybody wants is to have a dog that snatches food out of our hands, especially if we have children. So often when we offer a dog a treat, you are lucky to come away with your fingers intact.
By teaching the following exercises the pup learns to have control over his jaws. This does not mean that he will never bite, but he does learn to control the force of the bite thus reducing the chance of serious damage. This exercise must ALWAYS be taught on its own.
In training we train with a lure in our hand to entice the dog into the heel position and if you started shouting at a pup/dog for snatching you would simply destroy the training side and your relationship. If your dog snatches at your fingers when training, just hit yourself over the head with the newspaper for not practising these exercise enough! Seriously though, in this type of situation, until the pup has learnt to take food gently, rather offer the food with your hand held open – this will stop the situation occurring and you can continue practicing the bite inhibition exercises in between.
Bite inhibition may help to lessen the severity of a bite in the situation of a dog fight, both from the point of view of the other dog and that of redirected aggression (in the case of trying to stop a dog fight and the dog turns and bites you by accident).
What we need to remember is that the biting is a totally natural behaviour and for a client to stop the pup doing this completely is simply an injustice! Pups need to mouth, bite down on us – otherwise how can we give them the information they need that human skin is just far too delicate to bite on? This exercise should be practised as a separate exercise, as often as possible daily.
Exercise 1 – Taking food from the hand gently – Bite Inhibition
After you have done this several times and the dog is gaining an understanding that grabbing at food results in both you and the food leaving, you can start on the other exercises. In some cases it is necessary to do both of these at the same time.
HOW TO:
- A soft treat here is preferable to start with, something along the lines of a chicken Vienna sausage – this is to discourage the pup from biting down too hard.
- Hold the treat in your fingers, with the top end of the sausage just sticking out and offer the end of the sausage to the dog.
- Allow dog to nibble and lick it and praise quietly while the dog is taking it gently and even bring in a command of ‘gently’ or similar.
- If the dog snatches at the sausages or bites down hard, shout OUCH! in the loudest voice you can muster and storm away with your arms folded. It doesn’t matter if it did not hurt; it is the effect we are going for. It is of utmost importance that both the timing and intensity is correct in this exercise to achieve the desired effect.
- Your pup may look totally amazed and try to follow you. Turn away a few times ignoring it. Come back as if nothing has happened, then ask the pup to sit and once again offer the treat, repeating the sequence over and over if the pup snatches or bites hard and praising him quietly if he takes it gently, by saying ‘good gently’ or similar.
- The importance here is the timing (exactly when he bites down too hard), the marching away (it must not be a casual walk, really mean it and fold your arms and appear furious, and lastly the shout - really sound like it was unbelievable sore).
- As your pup gets better with the soft food you can ask for a softer and softer bite, and then start bringing in some harder food, such as a dog biscuit. When this happens go right back to the beginning, remembering that there will be more likelihood of him biting harder to begin with.
- As soon as the pup has an understanding of what you expect, start to feed all meals from by hand only, off and on for a period of time. This will really reinforce the bite inhibition.
Do bear in mind that if a dog is excited or nervous, the force of the bite will increase. Just go back to basics. This is an exercise that should be reinforced throughout the dog’s life. Doing this will really result in a soft bite.
Exercise 2 – Reducing the force of the mouthing
It is all very well for our little bundle of fluff to chew on us as a 2kg pup, but what happens when Fido weighs 45kg and has big teeth and doesn’t know how to inhibit his bite! I am not saying that a dog should not mouth us at all – of course they should, especially when they are puppies, otherwise they will never learn how to inhibit the force of their bite on human skin.
A puppy should be allowed to mouth us so that it learns how to inhibit its bite, up to the age of about 4 months (when adult teeth start coming through) – after that mouthing should not be allowed at all, unless you are engaging in play fighting (insert) to reinforce the bite inhibition.
Do this several times in a play session to really reinforce the new behaviour. You will not have an overnight success in that the pup no longer bites hard, rather you will work towards gradually lessening the force of the bite.
It is all very well for our little bundle of fluff to chew on us as a 2kg pup, but what happens when Fido weighs 45kg and has big teeth and doesn’t know how to inhibit his bite! I am not saying that a dog should not mouth us at all – of course they should, especially when they are puppies, otherwise they will never learn how to inhibit the force of their bite on human skin.
A puppy should be allowed to mouth us so that it learns how to inhibit its bite, up to the age of about 4 months (when adult teeth start coming through) – after that mouthing should not be allowed at all, unless you are engaging in play fighting (insert) to reinforce the bite inhibition.
- As the puppy mouths on you and it is a bit too hard, say a loud ‘ouch’ such as above and bring your hand/arm upwards and close to your body and pretend that it really hurt, even going to the extent of saying ‘Oh that was really sore’. Your dog will probably exhibit a look of amazement and try to lick you. Take a very short time out by turning away, then turn back to your pup and ask it to come to you sit then down as a way of apology and then continue playing. The pup also comes to realize that biting too hard brings a good game to an end.This exercise is based on what dogs do themselves when playing - if one pup bites down too hard, the other will more often than not, run away and possibly yelping at the same time - the message is that if you hurt me all fun stops.
Do this several times in a play session to really reinforce the new behaviour. You will not have an overnight success in that the pup no longer bites hard, rather you will work towards gradually lessening the force of the bite.
Exercise 3 – Nipping
Mouthing and nipping are two different issues. Mouthing is allowable up to about four months of age and nipping is something that is not allowed at all! Nipping between pups often occurs during play and is one of the ways that the pup gets to determine its rank.
Initially use the ‘oh that was sore’ exercise as above and if that does not work, as the pup bites down hard, Scream loud and this time storm away and walk out the door and close it behind you. Stay there for about 5 seconds and then walk back in as if nothing happened and go back to the exact same location and exercise as caused the nipping in the first place. If the nipping happens again - then another warning by way of a Screetch is given and if the pup continues leave the room again. This is called a Reverse Time out and is a form of negative punishment to the pup - we are taking away from it what it want the most - you! This is a very effective manner of teaching.
One thing, as in the Tantrum section, that an owner must not do is to pull their hand away, although this can be rather painful! To do so would only reinforce the behaviour. If a pup is engaging in this on a regular basis, it needs to be determined whether the pup is getting enough physical and mental stimulation and that there are sufficient legal chew toys available.
I do find very often that with pups that are nipping that the owner or member of the family are playing games such as tuggies, wrestling or teasing with the pups. All games such as these must be stopped immediately and the owner starts the bite inhibition work from the beginning. When the pup has cottoned onto what is allowable, then games such as tuggies can be brought back in, but with short time periods and totally supervised. Under no circumstances should pups or dogs, be teased or wrestled with.
If the pup has turned professional with this behaviour (often happens in the case whereby the owner has not had the correct tools to eliminate the behaviour and by screaming, shouting etc, the behaviour has been unintentionally reinforced – this can happen in a very short period of time), an additional tool can be used in the way of management – put a few drops of pure Citronella Oil on your hands, feet, or where ever the puppy is nipping. As the pup sniffs the oil it will probably back away, or pull its head away. Take this opportunity of praising the puppy for the behaviour you do want – not nipping. You could say, good leave, good gently, or similar.
Some of the older methods of dealing with nipping and mouthing involved rather harsh discipline by slapping the pup under the chin or holding the mouth closed. This could well cause pain or fear in the pup and may well result in reactive behaviour. Pain can increase aggression and in the case where an owner had been playing rough games with the pup, it may well perceive such behaviours as an escalation in the game and become even more excited and try to retaliate.
Exercise 4 - Leave
This can be started with food and then the owner can progress to any object at all. The difference between the Swap exercise is that with the Swap exercise, the puppy is given the object back and with the Leave exercise, it is never allowed to have it.
This is obliviously a lot harder for the pup and I do recommend that the Bite Inhibition and Swap exercises are taught first and that the puppy is totally proofed before taking this further. When the puppy knows the exercise, this can be brought in as an additional tool if the pup nips.
As with all dog training exercises this needs to be practiced often, with different objects, working up slowly to the more valuable ones and don’t forget to tell the owner to practice this in different locations. This could well save a dog’s life when out for a walk and its picks up some stinking (to the owner anyway) food particle that may cause severe tummy problems. As with the recall, this is an exercise that I reinforce on a regular basis with my own dogs and always give a reward when out on a walk. Remember that the pup never, ever gets the object it was told to leave.
Exercise 5 - Swap Exercise
Do you know why dogs are often hesitant about releasing objects already in their control? Simple, we take the object away and don’t give it back! In these circumstances it is no wonder that a dog does not want to give up its possessions.
This is a simple exercise to practice and it is best to start this off with an object that does not have great value to the dog, rather than a new chew toy or hoof which it loves. If the dog enjoys tug ropes this is what we normally start with, as it gives me control over the situation as I am holding one end of the rope.
The secret here is to have two of the objects with you i.e. 2 tug ropes the same. The reason we say the same, is that we have found that some dogs have a favourite rope which they are reluctant to give up, so rather start with 2 objects the dog does not value too highly or buy two new one’s. Hold the rope toy in your hand, with the 2nd rope held out of sight behind your back, and have a few seconds game of pullies. Then bring the other rope out from behind your back, offer it to your dog and say ‘swap’ at the same time. You may find that your dog looks totally startled, but will then eagerly take the new rope. Here, if you want to, you can add in the cue of ‘thank you’. Repeat this over and over.
If at any time the dog the dog refuses to release the rope, take it away with the words ‘finished’ and walk away. After a few minutes, return to the dog and start again. Your dog will figure out very quickly that in order to keep this game going it needs to relinquish what is in its mouth.
This exercise can also be achieved with the use of food for the Swap, especially with pups that are not Toy driven. You will do exactly the same exercise (also starting with Toys of less value) and instead of Swapping for another toy, you swap for a piece of food - again, you immediately give the Toy back to the pup. It is a good idea to practice both option.
You now start to ‘up the anti’ with the game by trying new and different objects gradually building up until you can say ‘swap’ from a distance and the dog will drop the object and come to you for the better one. Bear in mind that what you offer the dog in exchange must always be the same or better than the object it is holding e.g. a piece of kibble (dog cubes) does not take the place of a bone!
Bear in mind that this exercise needs to be practiced in different locations as well – different rooms in the house, in the garden, out for a walk etc.
Mouthing and nipping are two different issues. Mouthing is allowable up to about four months of age and nipping is something that is not allowed at all! Nipping between pups often occurs during play and is one of the ways that the pup gets to determine its rank.
Initially use the ‘oh that was sore’ exercise as above and if that does not work, as the pup bites down hard, Scream loud and this time storm away and walk out the door and close it behind you. Stay there for about 5 seconds and then walk back in as if nothing happened and go back to the exact same location and exercise as caused the nipping in the first place. If the nipping happens again - then another warning by way of a Screetch is given and if the pup continues leave the room again. This is called a Reverse Time out and is a form of negative punishment to the pup - we are taking away from it what it want the most - you! This is a very effective manner of teaching.
One thing, as in the Tantrum section, that an owner must not do is to pull their hand away, although this can be rather painful! To do so would only reinforce the behaviour. If a pup is engaging in this on a regular basis, it needs to be determined whether the pup is getting enough physical and mental stimulation and that there are sufficient legal chew toys available.
I do find very often that with pups that are nipping that the owner or member of the family are playing games such as tuggies, wrestling or teasing with the pups. All games such as these must be stopped immediately and the owner starts the bite inhibition work from the beginning. When the pup has cottoned onto what is allowable, then games such as tuggies can be brought back in, but with short time periods and totally supervised. Under no circumstances should pups or dogs, be teased or wrestled with.
If the pup has turned professional with this behaviour (often happens in the case whereby the owner has not had the correct tools to eliminate the behaviour and by screaming, shouting etc, the behaviour has been unintentionally reinforced – this can happen in a very short period of time), an additional tool can be used in the way of management – put a few drops of pure Citronella Oil on your hands, feet, or where ever the puppy is nipping. As the pup sniffs the oil it will probably back away, or pull its head away. Take this opportunity of praising the puppy for the behaviour you do want – not nipping. You could say, good leave, good gently, or similar.
Some of the older methods of dealing with nipping and mouthing involved rather harsh discipline by slapping the pup under the chin or holding the mouth closed. This could well cause pain or fear in the pup and may well result in reactive behaviour. Pain can increase aggression and in the case where an owner had been playing rough games with the pup, it may well perceive such behaviours as an escalation in the game and become even more excited and try to retaliate.
Exercise 4 - Leave
This can be started with food and then the owner can progress to any object at all. The difference between the Swap exercise is that with the Swap exercise, the puppy is given the object back and with the Leave exercise, it is never allowed to have it.
This is obliviously a lot harder for the pup and I do recommend that the Bite Inhibition and Swap exercises are taught first and that the puppy is totally proofed before taking this further. When the puppy knows the exercise, this can be brought in as an additional tool if the pup nips.
- Take several high value treats the pup loves and hold them in your left hand - we suggest a treat such as liver bread or biltong as the pup also gets the sensory stimulation. . In your right hand hold one pieces of a lesser value treat.
- Hold out your right hand about 4 inches from the pup’s nose (this is the one with the less favourite treat). As the pup approaches, close your hand quickly around the high value treat, say ‘Leave It’ in a stern voice and stare at the pup – even going to the extent of sticking your face directly in front of the pup’s face (which to a dog remember, is threatening behaviour). If you don’t act quickly enough, the pup may grab the treats. Simply start again and this time be faster.
- The second the pup either backs off, looks away, say ‘thank you’ and open the left hand containing the favourite treats and give one to the pup.
- Repeat this over and over.
- When the pup is comfortable with this, hold out the right hand holding the less favourite treats and say ‘leave it’ again, but this time don’t close your hand. If the pup backs off or looks away, immediately give a jackpot of the favourite food – from your left hand.
- Next step is to move the hand closer and closer to the pup, working as above.
- When the pup is being successful every single time, place the less favourite treat on the floor and position your foot over it at an angle with the toes section above the treat, so that the pup can see it, but not get at it. If the pup does try and take it you can use your foot in the same manner as closing your hand into a fist.
- Repeat as above offering the favourite treat from your right hand.
As with all dog training exercises this needs to be practiced often, with different objects, working up slowly to the more valuable ones and don’t forget to tell the owner to practice this in different locations. This could well save a dog’s life when out for a walk and its picks up some stinking (to the owner anyway) food particle that may cause severe tummy problems. As with the recall, this is an exercise that I reinforce on a regular basis with my own dogs and always give a reward when out on a walk. Remember that the pup never, ever gets the object it was told to leave.
Exercise 5 - Swap Exercise
Do you know why dogs are often hesitant about releasing objects already in their control? Simple, we take the object away and don’t give it back! In these circumstances it is no wonder that a dog does not want to give up its possessions.
This is a simple exercise to practice and it is best to start this off with an object that does not have great value to the dog, rather than a new chew toy or hoof which it loves. If the dog enjoys tug ropes this is what we normally start with, as it gives me control over the situation as I am holding one end of the rope.
The secret here is to have two of the objects with you i.e. 2 tug ropes the same. The reason we say the same, is that we have found that some dogs have a favourite rope which they are reluctant to give up, so rather start with 2 objects the dog does not value too highly or buy two new one’s. Hold the rope toy in your hand, with the 2nd rope held out of sight behind your back, and have a few seconds game of pullies. Then bring the other rope out from behind your back, offer it to your dog and say ‘swap’ at the same time. You may find that your dog looks totally startled, but will then eagerly take the new rope. Here, if you want to, you can add in the cue of ‘thank you’. Repeat this over and over.
If at any time the dog the dog refuses to release the rope, take it away with the words ‘finished’ and walk away. After a few minutes, return to the dog and start again. Your dog will figure out very quickly that in order to keep this game going it needs to relinquish what is in its mouth.
This exercise can also be achieved with the use of food for the Swap, especially with pups that are not Toy driven. You will do exactly the same exercise (also starting with Toys of less value) and instead of Swapping for another toy, you swap for a piece of food - again, you immediately give the Toy back to the pup. It is a good idea to practice both option.
You now start to ‘up the anti’ with the game by trying new and different objects gradually building up until you can say ‘swap’ from a distance and the dog will drop the object and come to you for the better one. Bear in mind that what you offer the dog in exchange must always be the same or better than the object it is holding e.g. a piece of kibble (dog cubes) does not take the place of a bone!
Bear in mind that this exercise needs to be practiced in different locations as well – different rooms in the house, in the garden, out for a walk etc.
2. Tantrums in Puppies
Many owners think it is rather cute when their pups first offer a temper tantrum when they don’t get their own way, and the most common one I would see in puppy class is when the owner picks the pup up when it is busy playing with the other pups or the play escalates. Heavens, some of them look like worms, wriggling and struggling to get out of their owners arms.
The very worst thing an owner can do in these circumstances is to give into the puppy. This may be rather hard especially when your adorable little bundle of fluff has started to take the behaviour further and its teeth are firmly embedded in your hand! A puppy tantrum is not funny; it is serious and must be addressed immediately to ensure that it does not happen again.
If the pup is throwing a tantrum, continue holding onto to the puppy as calmly and quietly as possible, holding one hand on the chest and the other on the back of the collar which may help prevent you being bitten. You can even just hold on with the hand on the chest. If you do already have a tantrum throwing pup, you may find it helpful to kneel on the ground with legs splayed and contain the puppy gently in the gap between your legs. This often helps to prevent nips and it gives you more control and prevents neck and face being nipped.
When the pup has settled, even for one or two seconds, then praise the puppy, both verbally and giving a treat, giving the cue ‘settle’, then release the puppy in a happy tone of voice, using the ‘Free’ cue, and tell it to go and play. Only then do you wash your hand and reach for the plasters. While the pup is engaging in the tantrum, the owner does not talk, shout or perform, they stay totally silent and just continue holding on. The message we are giving is that ‘we do not tolerate this behaviour’. If the owner lets the puppy go, the next time the tantrum occurs it is likely to be worse, as is the scenario with children. Rather get it sorted out while the pup is young enough to restrain and the teeth can do minimum damage.
I would even bring the exercise of giving the tantrum throwing pup, hugs and holding as much as possible, for short periods of time. The tantrum may have resulted initially due to not being able to play, but you may find that this particular pup does not like being hugged either – a very dangerous situation if you realize that young children often run up and hug dogs without even thinking about it!
Another factor is that pups will quickly realize that the behaviour of throwing a tantrum worked and will be more likely to add it to its own repertoire! Of course you don’t see dogs hugging in their own environment – but as we as humans tend to engage in this behaviour, it is far better to teach a young pup how to deal with these funny humans it goes to live with! My motto is ‘prevention is better than cure’.
In the pictures below you will see the exercise of Pass the Puppy being done. This is an excellent exercise to practice with family members and also visitors.As the pup is passed around each person gives the pup a few treats while patting it, lifting it up and containing it. If a tantrum is thrown the same exercise as above is carried out. Please note that if it is a fearful pup it may not tolerate this exercise so rather just practice with family and then new people can gradually be brought into the mix as the pup becomes more comfortable with them.
If, after this training, the puppy is still throwing tantrums on a regular basis, I would recommend consulting a qualified behaviour consultant, something is wrong, the puppy won’t just ‘grow out of it, as some owners think, further help is required.
Many owners think it is rather cute when their pups first offer a temper tantrum when they don’t get their own way, and the most common one I would see in puppy class is when the owner picks the pup up when it is busy playing with the other pups or the play escalates. Heavens, some of them look like worms, wriggling and struggling to get out of their owners arms.
The very worst thing an owner can do in these circumstances is to give into the puppy. This may be rather hard especially when your adorable little bundle of fluff has started to take the behaviour further and its teeth are firmly embedded in your hand! A puppy tantrum is not funny; it is serious and must be addressed immediately to ensure that it does not happen again.
If the pup is throwing a tantrum, continue holding onto to the puppy as calmly and quietly as possible, holding one hand on the chest and the other on the back of the collar which may help prevent you being bitten. You can even just hold on with the hand on the chest. If you do already have a tantrum throwing pup, you may find it helpful to kneel on the ground with legs splayed and contain the puppy gently in the gap between your legs. This often helps to prevent nips and it gives you more control and prevents neck and face being nipped.
When the pup has settled, even for one or two seconds, then praise the puppy, both verbally and giving a treat, giving the cue ‘settle’, then release the puppy in a happy tone of voice, using the ‘Free’ cue, and tell it to go and play. Only then do you wash your hand and reach for the plasters. While the pup is engaging in the tantrum, the owner does not talk, shout or perform, they stay totally silent and just continue holding on. The message we are giving is that ‘we do not tolerate this behaviour’. If the owner lets the puppy go, the next time the tantrum occurs it is likely to be worse, as is the scenario with children. Rather get it sorted out while the pup is young enough to restrain and the teeth can do minimum damage.
I would even bring the exercise of giving the tantrum throwing pup, hugs and holding as much as possible, for short periods of time. The tantrum may have resulted initially due to not being able to play, but you may find that this particular pup does not like being hugged either – a very dangerous situation if you realize that young children often run up and hug dogs without even thinking about it!
Another factor is that pups will quickly realize that the behaviour of throwing a tantrum worked and will be more likely to add it to its own repertoire! Of course you don’t see dogs hugging in their own environment – but as we as humans tend to engage in this behaviour, it is far better to teach a young pup how to deal with these funny humans it goes to live with! My motto is ‘prevention is better than cure’.
In the pictures below you will see the exercise of Pass the Puppy being done. This is an excellent exercise to practice with family members and also visitors.As the pup is passed around each person gives the pup a few treats while patting it, lifting it up and containing it. If a tantrum is thrown the same exercise as above is carried out. Please note that if it is a fearful pup it may not tolerate this exercise so rather just practice with family and then new people can gradually be brought into the mix as the pup becomes more comfortable with them.
If, after this training, the puppy is still throwing tantrums on a regular basis, I would recommend consulting a qualified behaviour consultant, something is wrong, the puppy won’t just ‘grow out of it, as some owners think, further help is required.
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3. Calming your pup down
As adorable as pups can be, they can also be totally overactive little things and very easily get over excited. One of the best ways to help a pup such as this is to have routines that you stick too and interrupt and stop the pup before it gets OTT (over the top).
Another way to help the pup to calm down is to do as much ‘settle’ work as possible in all different situations. The settle exercise is simply to interrupt play sessions on a regular basis. Restrain the pup by holding it between your legs, stroking the ears or body, saying ‘settle’ over and over and after a few minutes; release the pup with the cue ‘Free’. We are then showing our pups that the fun is not over when we interrupt a game, rather that if it settles down quietly for a while, the fun will soon begin again – a bit like play time for children at school –when the bell rings the first time it is play time, and when it rings again, it is time to go back to class. Additionally, as we teach children to sit down quietly and read a book, we are teaching our pups to settle down on a regular basis. This skill will also help a pup to settle quietly in its basket or bed if practised enough. If the pup objects and starts having a tantrum, then just do the Tantrum exercise above. The odds are the play has been going for too long when this happens - so just reduce the play session and practice in shorter increments.
A mistake that owners often make is that because the dog may be a breed that is known to be excitable and hyper active, they ignore the OTT behaviour and blame it on the breed. Nonsense, each and every pup and dog needs to learn how to settle down.
One of the tips we have at TTouch is ‘calm the tail and you calm the dog’. While you contain the pup quietly, in addition simply place your hand on the tail and hold it against the body for a few seconds – this is normally enough to calm the dog for a second so you can get its attention, lead it away and do some ‘settle’ exercises.
In our own puppy classes we always used to have a ‘play and settle’ exercise. The owners would do all they could to get their pups as excited as possible for a few minutes – get them to jump up and down, run in a circle etc, then they would be asked to ‘settle your pups’. Owners would then have to get the pups to settle down - this exercise is done several times in a row.
As adorable as pups can be, they can also be totally overactive little things and very easily get over excited. One of the best ways to help a pup such as this is to have routines that you stick too and interrupt and stop the pup before it gets OTT (over the top).
Another way to help the pup to calm down is to do as much ‘settle’ work as possible in all different situations. The settle exercise is simply to interrupt play sessions on a regular basis. Restrain the pup by holding it between your legs, stroking the ears or body, saying ‘settle’ over and over and after a few minutes; release the pup with the cue ‘Free’. We are then showing our pups that the fun is not over when we interrupt a game, rather that if it settles down quietly for a while, the fun will soon begin again – a bit like play time for children at school –when the bell rings the first time it is play time, and when it rings again, it is time to go back to class. Additionally, as we teach children to sit down quietly and read a book, we are teaching our pups to settle down on a regular basis. This skill will also help a pup to settle quietly in its basket or bed if practised enough. If the pup objects and starts having a tantrum, then just do the Tantrum exercise above. The odds are the play has been going for too long when this happens - so just reduce the play session and practice in shorter increments.
A mistake that owners often make is that because the dog may be a breed that is known to be excitable and hyper active, they ignore the OTT behaviour and blame it on the breed. Nonsense, each and every pup and dog needs to learn how to settle down.
One of the tips we have at TTouch is ‘calm the tail and you calm the dog’. While you contain the pup quietly, in addition simply place your hand on the tail and hold it against the body for a few seconds – this is normally enough to calm the dog for a second so you can get its attention, lead it away and do some ‘settle’ exercises.
In our own puppy classes we always used to have a ‘play and settle’ exercise. The owners would do all they could to get their pups as excited as possible for a few minutes – get them to jump up and down, run in a circle etc, then they would be asked to ‘settle your pups’. Owners would then have to get the pups to settle down - this exercise is done several times in a row.
4. Putting on the Collar and Lead for the first time.
Many people will put a collar on a puppy and just leave it on, believing that the pup will get used to it in time – we used to do the same thing ourselves! However, since turning professional we have seen umpteen dogs that have collar issues and on asking their owners what the pups reaction was when the collar was introduced (if they had the dogs from pups), every single one of them reacted badly the very first time it was put on.
A situation such as the above where the pup is not happy with the collar and the owner is aware of it, is that it can be inadvertently reinforced by the owner if they take the collar off whenever the pup objects – who wins? – the pup - it has successfully trained the owner not to use the collar and later attempts will prove harder and be less likely to succeed.
This does not mean that all dogs will react in this way, rather avoid one event learning and go slowly. At the end of the day, who are we to determine how traumatic the putting on of a collar may be – I would imagine that if somebody put a collar around my neck I would find it rather uncomfortable for a while, although I am sure I would eventually get used to it – however, if I was one of those people who hated wearing anything around my neck, my reaction could be stronger than just being uncomfortable - rather safe than sorry.
If we bear in mind that going for a walk will be one of your dog’s most pleasurable experiences, why take the chance of spoiling a wonderful outing by having a dog that is afraid or hesitant to have a collar on or to go on lead?
Our main aim here is to make the introduction of the collar a pleasurable experience. The underside of a dog’s neck is a very vulnerable place and his innate behaviour will be to protect it and to get rid of anything that is touching this area. If one looks at dogs fighting, they will endeavor to get hold of the neck. Also look at a dog exhibiting dominance towards another, it will often either put its own head over the back of the neck area or a paw will be placed on this area. For this reason, we start off by using a very light collar which can be fastened, instead of one which slips over the neck, which may make a puppy panic. We suggest a cat collar initially as they are much softer and more pliable than dog collars.
Many pups will accept the collar on and then just forget about it and no work is needed to get it habituated to the collar – all pups are different.
1.Firstly, have some really nice treats (or a full meal) with you and make sure your puppy is hungry. Use, as stated above, a light collar. Place it over the back of the neck and fasten it very loosely under the neck, not even touching the skin. Do this slowly and gently. Give a few treats or even a full meal, given one piece of kibble at a time, and then take the collar off. Place it back on, then repeat the treating. If the pup is objecting at all at this stage, then go back a step just place the collar on the back of the neck and then work from there.
Do this over the next one or two days, as many times per day as possible. You can even feed your pup its daily rations from your hand at the same time as doing this exercise. Once the puppy is happy with this, start to leave it on for a minute or two, keeping the interaction with your puppy going, by treating and even playing with a toy with him while the collar is on. The end result of this is that the puppy will associate the collar being put on as a rewarding experience rather than a traumatic experience. Remember, that as soon as the collar comes off – all treats stop. You will have to gauge the reaction of the pup yourself, as stated before, all pups will react differently and you may be able to put the collar on first time and leave it on.
If the pup cannot tolerate the above, then go back a step and just place the collar on the back of the neck and treat. Only once the pup is comfortable with this will you take it a step further, and that is to hold it under the neck and treat - an extra step is added in - finally you will go back to the step above and fasten the collar.
2.When he is happy with this, repeat the above process, very slowly making the collar a little tighter until it fits snugly on the neck. Practice this way for another few days until your pup is completely happy with the collar. Don’t rush this, your pup has just come home and every experience it has is a new experience. Puppies grow very quickly, so keep on checking that the collar is not getting too tight for your pup.
3,The next step is to clip on the lead, but only do this after the pup is completely happy with the collar. If the pup stressed about putting the collar on, rather wait a day or two before attaching the lead.
4.Once again ensure that you use a very light lead with a small clasp and repeat the process of treating as soon as the lead is attached - take the lead off and on and the pup only gets the treat when the lead is attached. Once the pup accepts this, leave the lead on the floor and move about 3 steps away from him and call him to you and treat from a kneeling position. (Kneeling down initially will make it easier for the pup to come to you) Gradually make the distance a little further making sure that there is nothing that can snag the lead and jerk the collar.
Many people suggest letting the pup run around with the lead on to get used to it in the home – I have seen too many pups who have got the lead snagged and been badly jerked to use this method (which could lead to problems on lead at a later stage) – I would rather control the situation and by doing this I can ensure that the experience is a positive one for the pup.
a.Now, have the puppy sitting, pick up the lead, and move one or two steps away, repeating the process as above, kneel down, calling the puppies name and treating as the puppy comes to you. Gradually make the distance a bit further. If your puppy shows any resistance, go back to the last step and practice that until the puppy is comfortable with it. If your puppy refuses to go with you, don’t pull on the lead as this is the beginning of a bad habit, and every time the puppy ‘wins’ the behaviour of sitting and refusing to go, is reinforced. When a pup engages in a behaviour such as this, it is a variation of the Freeze behaviour – the pup is not coping. As above, go back to where the pup was happy being on lead and go forward very slowly.
b.It is important to work with ‘where your puppy is at’ as we say at TTouch. This will ensure that he is not forced to take steps he can’t deal with. All puppies learn and accept new things into their lives at different rates. Some puppies can become used to collars and lead within an hour or a day, showing no signs of stress as you progress, while others can take up to a week to accept the restraint around their necks. Always make sure your client knows not to work with this exercise where the lead can become jammed on an object. If the pup is still not accepting the collar at a later stage, then I would suggest trying equipment such as the step-in harness which is often easier for pups to accept. If this is the case, you will start the procedure of the pup wearing it as based above – slowly and treating.
c.The next step is to start to get the pup to walk next to owner while on lead. Put on the lead and using a lure (food) held in our left hand and the lead in the right hand, encourage the pup to walk with you for a few steps rewarding with the treat after one or two steps. Gradually building up the distance until the puppy can happily walk around for a fair distance.
It is advisable to teach this as soon as possible and not leave it to the last minute before the puppy course starts. Puppy school is a new and alien place for a puppy, which it has never seen before. There are new dogs; new people, new objects and noises to deal with, and we don’t want to add any unnecessary stresses. If you are running a puppy school yourself, I would suggest that when your client books, that you send them the notes on how to achieve this exercise at home first.
If the pup has started trying to chew on the lead, this is a sign of stress - the pup is not coping - just go back a few steps and start again and go a bit slower.
Many clients ask, ‘should I leave the collar on my dog’. In general (there are exceptions and we will discuss them in the problem behaviour section) the answer to this is no. The reason for this is that it is very easy for a pup or dog to get the collar caught on an object and strangle itself, or to give itself a huge fright which may impact on its life. There are collars on the market that when they have a lot of pressure exerted on them, the clip opens by itself and the collar comes off, but getting hooked on something can still be a stressful experience for the pup.
Many people will put a collar on a puppy and just leave it on, believing that the pup will get used to it in time – we used to do the same thing ourselves! However, since turning professional we have seen umpteen dogs that have collar issues and on asking their owners what the pups reaction was when the collar was introduced (if they had the dogs from pups), every single one of them reacted badly the very first time it was put on.
A situation such as the above where the pup is not happy with the collar and the owner is aware of it, is that it can be inadvertently reinforced by the owner if they take the collar off whenever the pup objects – who wins? – the pup - it has successfully trained the owner not to use the collar and later attempts will prove harder and be less likely to succeed.
This does not mean that all dogs will react in this way, rather avoid one event learning and go slowly. At the end of the day, who are we to determine how traumatic the putting on of a collar may be – I would imagine that if somebody put a collar around my neck I would find it rather uncomfortable for a while, although I am sure I would eventually get used to it – however, if I was one of those people who hated wearing anything around my neck, my reaction could be stronger than just being uncomfortable - rather safe than sorry.
If we bear in mind that going for a walk will be one of your dog’s most pleasurable experiences, why take the chance of spoiling a wonderful outing by having a dog that is afraid or hesitant to have a collar on or to go on lead?
Our main aim here is to make the introduction of the collar a pleasurable experience. The underside of a dog’s neck is a very vulnerable place and his innate behaviour will be to protect it and to get rid of anything that is touching this area. If one looks at dogs fighting, they will endeavor to get hold of the neck. Also look at a dog exhibiting dominance towards another, it will often either put its own head over the back of the neck area or a paw will be placed on this area. For this reason, we start off by using a very light collar which can be fastened, instead of one which slips over the neck, which may make a puppy panic. We suggest a cat collar initially as they are much softer and more pliable than dog collars.
Many pups will accept the collar on and then just forget about it and no work is needed to get it habituated to the collar – all pups are different.
1.Firstly, have some really nice treats (or a full meal) with you and make sure your puppy is hungry. Use, as stated above, a light collar. Place it over the back of the neck and fasten it very loosely under the neck, not even touching the skin. Do this slowly and gently. Give a few treats or even a full meal, given one piece of kibble at a time, and then take the collar off. Place it back on, then repeat the treating. If the pup is objecting at all at this stage, then go back a step just place the collar on the back of the neck and then work from there.
Do this over the next one or two days, as many times per day as possible. You can even feed your pup its daily rations from your hand at the same time as doing this exercise. Once the puppy is happy with this, start to leave it on for a minute or two, keeping the interaction with your puppy going, by treating and even playing with a toy with him while the collar is on. The end result of this is that the puppy will associate the collar being put on as a rewarding experience rather than a traumatic experience. Remember, that as soon as the collar comes off – all treats stop. You will have to gauge the reaction of the pup yourself, as stated before, all pups will react differently and you may be able to put the collar on first time and leave it on.
If the pup cannot tolerate the above, then go back a step and just place the collar on the back of the neck and treat. Only once the pup is comfortable with this will you take it a step further, and that is to hold it under the neck and treat - an extra step is added in - finally you will go back to the step above and fasten the collar.
2.When he is happy with this, repeat the above process, very slowly making the collar a little tighter until it fits snugly on the neck. Practice this way for another few days until your pup is completely happy with the collar. Don’t rush this, your pup has just come home and every experience it has is a new experience. Puppies grow very quickly, so keep on checking that the collar is not getting too tight for your pup.
3,The next step is to clip on the lead, but only do this after the pup is completely happy with the collar. If the pup stressed about putting the collar on, rather wait a day or two before attaching the lead.
4.Once again ensure that you use a very light lead with a small clasp and repeat the process of treating as soon as the lead is attached - take the lead off and on and the pup only gets the treat when the lead is attached. Once the pup accepts this, leave the lead on the floor and move about 3 steps away from him and call him to you and treat from a kneeling position. (Kneeling down initially will make it easier for the pup to come to you) Gradually make the distance a little further making sure that there is nothing that can snag the lead and jerk the collar.
Many people suggest letting the pup run around with the lead on to get used to it in the home – I have seen too many pups who have got the lead snagged and been badly jerked to use this method (which could lead to problems on lead at a later stage) – I would rather control the situation and by doing this I can ensure that the experience is a positive one for the pup.
a.Now, have the puppy sitting, pick up the lead, and move one or two steps away, repeating the process as above, kneel down, calling the puppies name and treating as the puppy comes to you. Gradually make the distance a bit further. If your puppy shows any resistance, go back to the last step and practice that until the puppy is comfortable with it. If your puppy refuses to go with you, don’t pull on the lead as this is the beginning of a bad habit, and every time the puppy ‘wins’ the behaviour of sitting and refusing to go, is reinforced. When a pup engages in a behaviour such as this, it is a variation of the Freeze behaviour – the pup is not coping. As above, go back to where the pup was happy being on lead and go forward very slowly.
b.It is important to work with ‘where your puppy is at’ as we say at TTouch. This will ensure that he is not forced to take steps he can’t deal with. All puppies learn and accept new things into their lives at different rates. Some puppies can become used to collars and lead within an hour or a day, showing no signs of stress as you progress, while others can take up to a week to accept the restraint around their necks. Always make sure your client knows not to work with this exercise where the lead can become jammed on an object. If the pup is still not accepting the collar at a later stage, then I would suggest trying equipment such as the step-in harness which is often easier for pups to accept. If this is the case, you will start the procedure of the pup wearing it as based above – slowly and treating.
c.The next step is to start to get the pup to walk next to owner while on lead. Put on the lead and using a lure (food) held in our left hand and the lead in the right hand, encourage the pup to walk with you for a few steps rewarding with the treat after one or two steps. Gradually building up the distance until the puppy can happily walk around for a fair distance.
It is advisable to teach this as soon as possible and not leave it to the last minute before the puppy course starts. Puppy school is a new and alien place for a puppy, which it has never seen before. There are new dogs; new people, new objects and noises to deal with, and we don’t want to add any unnecessary stresses. If you are running a puppy school yourself, I would suggest that when your client books, that you send them the notes on how to achieve this exercise at home first.
If the pup has started trying to chew on the lead, this is a sign of stress - the pup is not coping - just go back a few steps and start again and go a bit slower.
Many clients ask, ‘should I leave the collar on my dog’. In general (there are exceptions and we will discuss them in the problem behaviour section) the answer to this is no. The reason for this is that it is very easy for a pup or dog to get the collar caught on an object and strangle itself, or to give itself a huge fright which may impact on its life. There are collars on the market that when they have a lot of pressure exerted on them, the clip opens by itself and the collar comes off, but getting hooked on something can still be a stressful experience for the pup.
5. Food Bowl Exercises
Teaching a pup that people touching its food bowl is a good thing is one of the most important exercises you can do with your pup and will help to prevent future resource guarding of such a valuable item. Although much of the pups food will either given by hand or in a Busy Buddy, a portion of the days food should be given in a bowl and the following exercise undertaken. This will ensure that the pup will associate people touching the bowl and the pup itself while eating will be a positive association.
1. Stand or sit next to the pups bowl and have nice treats in your hand.
2. As you touch the bowl, offer the pup a treat. Praise the pup continually as you do these exercises.
3. Pick up the bowl slightly and at the same time offer the pup a treat. A variation of this can be done by holding the bowl and with the other hand pop in a nice treat.
4. As the pup gets used to this then offer a piece of food as you touch the pup. Gradually touch the pup all over its body, while making it a positive experience by offering treats as you do this.
You can do variations of the above and this should be practised daily and during the rest of the pups life. When starting this exercise let the owner do it and then extend to other members of the family. Children should also do this exercise, however only when the pup is completely happy with the exercises and always under adult supervision.
Teaching a pup that people touching its food bowl is a good thing is one of the most important exercises you can do with your pup and will help to prevent future resource guarding of such a valuable item. Although much of the pups food will either given by hand or in a Busy Buddy, a portion of the days food should be given in a bowl and the following exercise undertaken. This will ensure that the pup will associate people touching the bowl and the pup itself while eating will be a positive association.
1. Stand or sit next to the pups bowl and have nice treats in your hand.
2. As you touch the bowl, offer the pup a treat. Praise the pup continually as you do these exercises.
3. Pick up the bowl slightly and at the same time offer the pup a treat. A variation of this can be done by holding the bowl and with the other hand pop in a nice treat.
4. As the pup gets used to this then offer a piece of food as you touch the pup. Gradually touch the pup all over its body, while making it a positive experience by offering treats as you do this.
You can do variations of the above and this should be practised daily and during the rest of the pups life. When starting this exercise let the owner do it and then extend to other members of the family. Children should also do this exercise, however only when the pup is completely happy with the exercises and always under adult supervision.
